There are times, especially during the cold winter months, when we all hanker after a chunky hearty filling soup that bursts with flavours, … and make it hot and spicy, like I did, or tone down the heat to your liking.
It’s well worth the little effort to create such a soup. It is filling and satisfying, and even delights guests!
Apart from the sausages plus chorizo you may well have the ingredients already in the kitchen, or adapt them to what you have.
So, then, here are the ingredients I added:
Let’s start with the roughly chopped onions on the top left hand corner and then circle in clockwise.
I purposefully do not give measurements as my version might be far too strong or too much, or whatever. It also might depend how large your crock pot / slow cooker or oven casserole is to fit the ingredients in.
Onion/s – I used one red and one white onion. Any will do fine.
Next on the picture is the Parmesan cheese (yes, I know, that will be the garnish and not go into the cooking ….),
Worcester sauce, a few spritzes according to taste.
Green beans, cut into smaller pieces – optional, or change it beans to another green veg.
Stock, good quality, preferably some yummy wholesome homemade stock like shown HERE
Red kidney beans. I used one can of beans and rinsed them well.
Pork sausages, good quality (97% meat) cut up,
Butter beans, or chickpeas, or haricot bean
Celery, cut into smaller pieces
Tomatoes, I used fresh small baby plum tomatoes cut in half
Spices
— Smoked Paprika (more vibrant red on the picture). Yes, you do need smoked not the normal sweet paprika. It adds to the overall depth of flavour for the soup. I used about a heaped table spoon full.
— hot chilly powder (optional)
— black pepper whole corns
— Smoked Paprika (more vibrant red on the picture). Yes, you do need smoked not the normal sweet paprika. It adds to the overall depth of flavour for the soup. I used about a heaped table spoon full.
— hot chilly powder (optional)
— black pepper whole corns
Salt, I used coarse pink Himalayan salt
Honey, I used a good tablespoon full
Garlic, … oh well … I use a LOT … use as much as you prefer.
Herbs. I use fresh herbs and bundle them inside one of those large roomy 100% cotton “Wrap ‘n Boil” bags (orange packaging shown left above the herbs). Check out my suggestions on cook bags HERE. So, the herbs were:
— Rosemary
— Sage
— Bay leaves
— Thyme
— Rosemary
— Sage
— Bay leaves
— Thyme
Essential Oils (optional) … yes you can cook with them, read up about this HERE.
— Oregano Oil. I used them as I did not have any fresh oregano at hand … and dried oregano just does not taste the same. The essential oils are just like the fresh herbs, only more intense. For the oregano oil please only swirl in a much as a tip of the tooth pick can hold, simply because it is so very, very concentrated!
— Lime Oil. You can be a bit more generous with lime oil, two or three drops is fine.
— Oregano Oil. I used them as I did not have any fresh oregano at hand … and dried oregano just does not taste the same. The essential oils are just like the fresh herbs, only more intense. For the oregano oil please only swirl in a much as a tip of the tooth pick can hold, simply because it is so very, very concentrated!
— Lime Oil. You can be a bit more generous with lime oil, two or three drops is fine.
Kale, I used the stronger black kale
Potatoes, you choose how much you want to chop into the soup. If you prefer a more liquidy soup, just use less potatoes.
Red Bell Pepper, roughly chopped
(The orange packaging of the cook bags, as mentioned above)
Apple Cider Vinegar – 1 Table spoon
Method:
Simply add all the ingredients listed above into a casserole or slow cooker – except:
— the kale,
— chorizo, and the
— essential oils, if you use them.
— chorizo, and the
— essential oils, if you use them.
Cooking time varies according to your appliance or choice of cooking (crock pot or oven). For oven cooking heat up the oven temperature to the highest, 250’C, leave the temperature like that for no more than 20 mins and then turn it down to 160 ‘C and cook it for a few hours until it is nearly done, then add the Kale for half an hour (longer if you prefer the kale softer), and finally the chorizo. Just before serving add the essential oils, if you use them.
Similarly with the crock pot; clearly it takes a few hours more than the oven method. then the same with the Kale and finally the chorizo.
The reason I leave the chorizo to almost last is that somehow soups drain the flavour out of smoked saussages.
Essential oils should not be heated, so add just before serving.
Once served add some good quality Parmesan and shave thin flakes over your soup with a vegetable peeler.
Serve with a strong red wine and hot crusty bread.
Guten Appeti!
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